It’s third grade again and you’re singing songs for a musical in the elementary school gym. Your tummy has butterflies and you know mom and dad are watching. The songs are cute and the grown ups are laughing. What did the songs mean to you exactly? Nothing. You could say that’s how senior Sammy Eckstrom felt while being on stage for the first time with his band Vertigo.
In 2001 Omaha created a non-profit development program called BluesEd that gives opportunities for youth musicians to perform in bands. Eckstrom reached out to BluesEd to see if he could get involved in making music. BluesEd expects musicians to be proficient and passionate about the instrument they play and have a basic knowledge of music theory. It was only a matter of time until Eckstrom found himself in a band with ENHS senior Colin McMahon and other members Jackson Fuller, Johan Wit, Izzy Destafano, and Val Pioppi. The group has traveled as far as Memphis, Tennessee to perform together.
Eckstrom soaks in his stage presence while performing and he connects to his pieces of music. Eckstrom uses extreme facials that resemble the emotion of the music he is singing and hand gestures to grab the audience’s attention. He isn’t afraid to embrace and express his passion in front of multiple pairs of eyes. He makes the audience feel the emotion through the inflection of his voice and can make the crowd understand what emotion is being sung through the genre and tempo of the music being played.
“It’s one thing to just perform but it’s another to know what you’re singing,” Eckstrom said.
In high school a lot can pile up on a teenager: home life, friends, romantic relationships, school activities, work, all while also trying to be a good student. Even with all of this, Eckstrom seems to have everything under control.
“It’s not hard to manage, well – sometimes,” Eckstrom said, “things will pile up but it really just comes down to picking priorities. The only challenge is learning the music, keeping it memorized and not being scared on stage. You just got to get used to being in front of people.”
Besides being in front of hundreds of sets of eyes with his band, Eckstrom has also been seen on Elkhorn North’s stage in the musical productions of The Little Mermaid during his sophomore year and Legally Blonde his Junior year as Warner Huntington.
“It’s been fun to watch him grow,” senior Colin McMahon said. “He’s just a fun guy to be around. He’s a really laid back dude. He keeps everything cool and everything non-drama based.”
Just like anything else in life, it takes growing and learning to become best at something.
“He’s always been capable,” choir teacher Casey Allen said. “I can tell he’s very passionate about what he does and he’s very musically minded. Sammy I think is extremely passionate towards modern music and songwriting. He’s really creative and has a great ear.”
In April, Eckstrom and Vertigo were called by Principal Dan Radicia to play at post prom.
“After high school I’m going to major in nursing and minor in music and just keep pursuing music on the side.”
